Excursion tours to Ala-Archa park.

“The skis are standing by the stove, the sunset is dying out behind the mountain,
The month ends in March, we will soon go home.
Hello gloomy days, mountain sun, goodbye,
We will keep this land in our hearts forever."

Yuri Vizbor. "Dombai Waltz". 1961.

Excursion to Ala-Archa park.

Aksai glacier is located on northern slope of Kyrgyz Ala-Too ridge, in lateral (eastern) Aksai gorge, 41 kilometers south and slightly west of city of Bishkek in Alamudun district of Chui region.

The origins of the glacier begin at an altitude of 4751 m. a. s. l. The upper part of the glacier is located in a circus, and the neighboring Korona glacier is located in about the same circus. In the northeastern part of the ridge, at the head of the glacier, there is the Korona peak, 4860 m. a. s. l.
In the intermediate ridge, which is located in the upper reaches of the Aksai and between the Korona glacier, in the western part is the Iziskatel peak, 4400 m. a. s. l. 1.4 kilometers to the south-west, across the Aksai glacier, from the Izyskatel peak, there is the Free Korea peak at a height of 4740 m. a. s. l.
2.2 kilometers after the headwaters of Aksai, on the eastern side, the Korona glacier adjoins the glacier, which flows down from the western slopes of the Korona peak. After the Korona glacier ends, the eastern side of the Aksai glacier is a ridge that separates it from the Western Uchitel glacier (Left branch).
The lower part of the Aksai glacier is severely ruptured. Basically, there are transverse cracks in the glacier, due to the squeezing of the glacier by parallel ridges. At an altitude of 3944 m. a. s. l.l, 420 meters after the confluence with the Korona glacier, the Korona stone hut is located on the eastern side of the glacier moraine.
On the side, eastern moraine part of the glacier, at an altitude of 3300 m. a. s. l., there is a hut of the ITMC tourist company, which has been operating since 2003. In earlier times this hut was called "Ratseka". The tongue of the open part of the Aksai glacier is located at an altitude of 3320 m. a. s. l. at the same height in the west of the moraine of the Uchitel glacier comes into contact with Aksai.
The tongue of the moraine part of the Aksai glacier is located at an altitude of 3207 m. a. s. l.

Geographic coordinates of Aksai glacier: N42°30'35 E74°32'10

Authority and photos by:
Alexander Petrov.